His writings describe his birth into a family headed by an alcoholic father and a dysfunctional mother. Seeing nothing to gain in Germany, he left that life behind and came to America on his own as a teenager, arriving at the port of Baltimore. He first went to Illinois but shortly thereafter came to York County where he married Sarah A. Welcomer on February 13, 1859, fathering Elizabeth E. aka Emma Jane & Susan (b. 09/04/61 - Emma married Millard Coyle; Susan died 10/23/62). In 1860, he was a laborer presumably living with his family in Goldsboro, York County, Pennsylvania, although he is not found in that census. He stood 5' 4" tall and had dark hair and hazel eyes.
A Civil War veteran, he enlisted in York August 24, 1861, and mustered into federal service there September 13 as a corporal with Co. E, 87th Pennsylvania Infantry. He was a mess mate of Joseph Francis Mack, who is also buried in Falmouth Cemetery. George was the first man in Co. E (so he claimed and possibly true) to enlist as a Veteran Volunteer, that on January 1, 1864, at Brandy Station, Virginia. Promoted to sergeant, date unknown, he honorably discharged with his company June 29, 1865.
Articles in the Lancaster News-Journal dated February 16 and 23, 1884, refer to him as "Colonel," a rank the U.S. Army never granted him.
George played a prominent role in my regimental history of the 87th Pennsyvlania Infantry, thanks to his diary spanning the years 1864-1865. Sadly, he destroyed the diary covering his first two years in service when the army had to flee Winchester, Virginia, in the the early morning hours of June 15, 1863, and burned everything of record. He replaced the lost diary with a post-war account that unfortunately contains personal views on subjects he could not have been privy to at the time, but it is still an excellent primary source. Although a German immigrant, his command of the written English language was above average (here assuming that he wrote it himself).
He lived in Falmouth in Conoy Township, Lancaster County, for twenty years after the war, but In 1890 was residing in nearby Middletown, Dauphin County. By 1910, he was back in Conoy Township living with his daughter, there dying from a "loss of intelligence, gradual failure of vital processes; could not swallow, hard breathing", i.e., "old age" or as should be apparent from the description, Alzheimer's. Beside not being found in the 1860 census, he is likewise strangely absent from both the 1870 and 1880 censuses. His obituary in the Lancaster News-Journal uses "E" for his middle initial although it appears to have been "C."
A Civil War veteran, he enlisted in York August 24, 1861, and mustered into federal service there September 13 as a corporal with Co. E, 87th Pennsylvania Infantry. He was a mess mate of Joseph Francis Mack, who is also buried in Falmouth Cemetery. George was the first man in Co. E (so he claimed and possibly true) to enlist as a Veteran Volunteer, that on January 1, 1864, at Brandy Station, Virginia. Promoted to sergeant, date unknown, he honorably discharged with his company June 29, 1865.
Articles in the Lancaster News-Journal dated February 16 and 23, 1884, refer to him as "Colonel," a rank the U.S. Army never granted him.
George played a prominent role in my regimental history of the 87th Pennsyvlania Infantry, thanks to his diary spanning the years 1864-1865. Sadly, he destroyed the diary covering his first two years in service when the army had to flee Winchester, Virginia, in the the early morning hours of June 15, 1863, and burned everything of record. He replaced the lost diary with a post-war account that unfortunately contains personal views on subjects he could not have been privy to at the time, but it is still an excellent primary source. Although a German immigrant, his command of the written English language was above average (here assuming that he wrote it himself).
He lived in Falmouth in Conoy Township, Lancaster County, for twenty years after the war, but In 1890 was residing in nearby Middletown, Dauphin County. By 1910, he was back in Conoy Township living with his daughter, there dying from a "loss of intelligence, gradual failure of vital processes; could not swallow, hard breathing", i.e., "old age" or as should be apparent from the description, Alzheimer's. Beside not being found in the 1860 census, he is likewise strangely absent from both the 1870 and 1880 censuses. His obituary in the Lancaster News-Journal uses "E" for his middle initial although it appears to have been "C."
His writings describe his birth into a family headed by an alcoholic father and a dysfunctional mother. Seeing nothing to gain in Germany, he left that life behind and came to America on his own as a teenager, arriving at the port of Baltimore. He first went to Illinois but shortly thereafter came to York County where he married Sarah A. Welcomer on February 13, 1859, fathering Elizabeth E. aka Emma Jane & Susan (b. 09/04/61 - Emma married Millard Coyle; Susan died 10/23/62). In 1860, he was a laborer presumably living with his family in Goldsboro, York County, Pennsylvania, although he is not found in that census. He stood 5' 4" tall and had dark hair and hazel eyes.
A Civil War veteran, he enlisted in York August 24, 1861, and mustered into federal service there September 13 as a corporal with Co. E, 87th Pennsylvania Infantry. He was a mess mate of Joseph Francis Mack, who is also buried in Falmouth Cemetery. George was the first man in Co. E (so he claimed and possibly true) to enlist as a Veteran Volunteer, that on January 1, 1864, at Brandy Station, Virginia. Promoted to sergeant, date unknown, he honorably discharged with his company June 29, 1865.
Articles in the Lancaster News-Journal dated February 16 and 23, 1884, refer to him as "Colonel," a rank the U.S. Army never granted him.
George played a prominent role in my regimental history of the 87th Pennsyvlania Infantry, thanks to his diary spanning the years 1864-1865. Sadly, he destroyed the diary covering his first two years in service when the army had to flee Winchester, Virginia, in the the early morning hours of June 15, 1863, and burned everything of record. He replaced the lost diary with a post-war account that unfortunately contains personal views on subjects he could not have been privy to at the time, but it is still an excellent primary source. Although a German immigrant, his command of the written English language was above average (here assuming that he wrote it himself).
He lived in Falmouth in Conoy Township, Lancaster County, for twenty years after the war, but In 1890 was residing in nearby Middletown, Dauphin County. By 1910, he was back in Conoy Township living with his daughter, there dying from a "loss of intelligence, gradual failure of vital processes; could not swallow, hard breathing", i.e., "old age" or as should be apparent from the description, Alzheimer's. Beside not being found in the 1860 census, he is likewise strangely absent from both the 1870 and 1880 censuses. His obituary in the Lancaster News-Journal uses "E" for his middle initial although it appears to have been "C."
A Civil War veteran, he enlisted in York August 24, 1861, and mustered into federal service there September 13 as a corporal with Co. E, 87th Pennsylvania Infantry. He was a mess mate of Joseph Francis Mack, who is also buried in Falmouth Cemetery. George was the first man in Co. E (so he claimed and possibly true) to enlist as a Veteran Volunteer, that on January 1, 1864, at Brandy Station, Virginia. Promoted to sergeant, date unknown, he honorably discharged with his company June 29, 1865.
Articles in the Lancaster News-Journal dated February 16 and 23, 1884, refer to him as "Colonel," a rank the U.S. Army never granted him.
George played a prominent role in my regimental history of the 87th Pennsyvlania Infantry, thanks to his diary spanning the years 1864-1865. Sadly, he destroyed the diary covering his first two years in service when the army had to flee Winchester, Virginia, in the the early morning hours of June 15, 1863, and burned everything of record. He replaced the lost diary with a post-war account that unfortunately contains personal views on subjects he could not have been privy to at the time, but it is still an excellent primary source. Although a German immigrant, his command of the written English language was above average (here assuming that he wrote it himself).
He lived in Falmouth in Conoy Township, Lancaster County, for twenty years after the war, but In 1890 was residing in nearby Middletown, Dauphin County. By 1910, he was back in Conoy Township living with his daughter, there dying from a "loss of intelligence, gradual failure of vital processes; could not swallow, hard breathing", i.e., "old age" or as should be apparent from the description, Alzheimer's. Beside not being found in the 1860 census, he is likewise strangely absent from both the 1870 and 1880 censuses. His obituary in the Lancaster News-Journal uses "E" for his middle initial although it appears to have been "C."
Inscription
Sergt. Co. E 87 Regt.
Pa. Vol. Inf.
Family Members
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